George Taylor
playwright

Renaissance

Cast: 4 men or 3 men, 1 woman
• Leonardo DaVinci, early 50s. Vibrant, not the weary graybeard of the chalk drawing.
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, 29, compact, dark, intense.
• Piero Soderini, 54, medium in every dimension. Loves the sound of his own voice.
• Ombra, any size, shape, age. Male or female. Chorus figure; plays several roles.

Setting: An impressionistic representation of the Council Hall in Florence, Italy (the real thing is shown here). The imagination. A bluff in Northern Italy. These settings may be created through any combination of projections, scenery, space, and, especially, lighting. Time: 1500s and today

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Next Train to Moscow

Cast: 4 men, 2 women
• Lionel: Early 40s. He owns the coffee place where the play is set.
• Lacey: Mid 40s. Lionel’s older sister.
• CB: Mid 40s; perhaps somewhat mystified by life.
• Samantha (“Sammi”). Late 30s; uses a wheelchair. CB’s younger sister.
• Stephen: Mid 40s. A pianist.
• Joey: Late teens. Homeless skateboard kid.

Setting: Meeting Grounds, a coffee place that is decidedly not Starbucks in a mid-sized city somewhere in America. Mismatched sofa and chairs, a few tables, some stools, counter and espresso equipment. An upright piano stands against one wall. It’s the kind of neighborhood gathering spot where regulars have their own cups and local clubs put posters on the walls. Time: Today.

(Image: Monthly meeting of the Philosopher Kings discussion group at Meeting Grounds?)

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Good Citizen

Cast: Two principal characters and an ensemble of 7-10 actors (male and female)
• Minoru Yasui: Asian-American male, mid to late 20s.
• The Poet: Asian, male or female, middle age or older.
• The Ensemble: 7-12 actors portray the rest of the characters (there are about 30 of these).

Setting: Portland, Oregon; Minidoka, Idaho; Chicago, various other places. Design should be somewhat barren and impressionistic. The many locations should be hints laid on top of this empty landscape. Playing areas and lighting should be used to make the scene transitions fluid. Time: Most of the action takes place in 1942.

(Photo: Taken by Dorothea Lange in March 1942. The owner unfurled his banner the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was interned.)

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The Strange Case of the Miser at Christmas

Cast: 3 men and an ensemble of 3 women, 3 men, 3 children (or more)
• Sherlock Holmes
• Dr. John Watson
• Ebenezer Scrooge
• The Ensemble: 3 women, 3 men, 3 children portray about 20 characters

Setting: Most of the play takes place in Sherlock Holmes’s study, a chaotic and fascinating place. The study must provide scope for Scrooge’s dream sequences to take place within – though those scenes should extend beyond the walls of the study. Brief vignettes, isolated by lighting, will also be played outside the study. Time: Victorian England circa 1882.

(Image: The Fezziwigs’ Christmas Party. Is that Holmes with the fiddle?)

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The Smallpox War

Cast: 5 men and 2 women (minimum), most of whom play multiple roles
• John Glover, early 40s
• Sam Adams, early 50s
• Elbridge Gerry, early 30s
• Hannah Glover, late 30s
• Young Hannah Glover, mid teens
• Dr. Hall Jackson, mid 30s
• “King” Hooper, late 40s - early 50s
• Sarah: A serving girl, teens
• Abijah Bowden: leader of incendiaries, 30s
• The General, md 40s
• Townspeople, rioters

Setting: In and around Marblehead, Massachusetts. The many settings should be hints rather than detailed representations. Different playing areas and lighting should be used to make the scene transitions as fluid as possible. Time: 1774.

(Photo: John Glover’s house near the Marblehead waterfront as it looks today.)

Taylor Photo by Sabina Samiee, Oregon Arts Commission

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Renaissance

Next Train to Moscow

Good Citizen

The Strange Case of the Miser at Christmas

The Smallpox War

Who and What

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